August Update - I am not gone, just resting

Welcome back, friends!

I haven't updated the old blog in a hot minute, but I'm not abandoning The Winter Court. In fact, I am (excruciatingly slowly) doing my utmost to make it even better.

So when last I wrote about progress with the book, I was just about to have a friend of mine do a beta-read of my current draft. Her name is Julia and she's a brilliant freelance editor (so if you have content that you want edited, she's your gal. Contact me for details as I'm not sure if her website is up and available yet and she's on #vacation. Will update etc etc.)

After that first round of soft edits (for those who have no idea what beta-reading is), we both felt that there was something missing from the book and that it was just too short to get into some of the story lines. Which means more content!

It also means more storyboarding, which I hate, and which has been my main focus. I've been trying to come up with a comprehensive timeline of events for the past couple of months, and that of course has been taking a long time because I just don't want to do it. Yes, yes, I am my own worst enemy. I know this. Nothing is likely to change in this regard.

I passed the Twitter milestone of 1,000 followers a while ago. No idea when, but here's where we're at. You're more than welcome to follow me there - though it's mostly bitching about how much I hate storyboarding and editing. And sometimes my thoughts on whatever show or a trope in books or whatever. Keeping it light, mostly.

I also changed my Twitter handle because I decided that I didn't like @VAstorFiction anymore. It is now @VictoriaKAstor (as I'm sure you can see from the photo).

On a more personal note, I've recently gotten a new job in the opposite end of the city, meaning that I'm moving and have been preparing for this move since mid-July. It took forever to find an apartment, and now I have one and I feel good about it because it will be about 10-15 minutes from my new work. I love this because I desperately hate driving.

(Don't ask me if I'm excited about the job. I am not. But it's something to do.)

This of course means that I have no idea how the book will be prioritized moving forward. I'm just hoping to keep plugging away at it. Because procrastination is an issue, I might try and implement a mandatory word limit for myself for the day. Nothing crazy. I think I read somewhere that Terry Pratchett only ever wrote like 400 words per day. I feel like I could do that. Or maybe I'll make it less. Say 200? We'll see.

Enjoy the rest of your summer, my loves! If you want to come and help me move, that would be amazing (no pressure).

Love, Tori

#fantasy #YAFantasy #NAFantasy #faerie #updates #novel #youngadult #newadult #YARomance #YAAdventure #fae #thewintercourt